1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a method of asbestos contamination control and the formulas used therein and the use of the method on friable or cementitious asbestos containing coatings or articles that are being removed from a building being renovated or demolished.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,972 discloses a process for producing a board of cement-like material reinforced by fibrous material, such as asbestos, wherein the fibrous material is airborne during the formation of the material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,115 discloses a method of producing a prewet dust-free form of asbestos short fibers by agglomerating the asbestos fibers with a relatively small amount of hydrophilic liquids such as water and a polymeric material such as ethylene glycol. The asbestos agglomerate is designed for use in connection with non-polar materials such as solvents, oils, rubber, polyethylene, and polyesters.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,109 discloses a process for the production of a vulcanized latex protective coating bonded to the surface of an asbestos-cement article to prevent the subsequent release of asbestos fibers from the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,111 discloses a negative air pressure method and apparatus for the protection of a job site from airborne asbestos fibers in a specified enclosure defining the job site.
The present invention differs from the known prior art in avoiding the release of friable asbestos into the environment by an initial step of wetting the asbestos containing material and simultaneously encapsulating the asbestos fibers in the material thus preventing the release of friable asbestos into the environment whereas the prior art relates to utilizing friable asbestos in a product where the friable asbestos is airborne during some or all of the stated process or in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,111, friable asbestos in the environment is airborne and is theoretically circulated through filters in communication with an exhaust means.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has established regulations setting certain standards for the handling of friable asbestos in various work environments including demolition. The demolition of structures containing friable asbestos is controlled by these regulations and requires very expensive handling and disposal techniques. The disposal techniques for friable asbestos are particularly burdensome and expensive including wetting, double bagging, and disposal in only certain licensed disposal sites which are often a great distance from a demolition site.